‘Defensive Golf’ Park Minji “Two Consecutive Wins in Two Tournaments in One Season~”…Rookie Kim Minju Runner-up (Summary)

Celltrion Queens Masters 18th Hole 'Winning Eagle' Jumps to 1st in Prize Money, Hyun Se-rin 3rd, Song Ga-eun 4th

Park Minji is cheering after sinking an eagle putt on the final 18th hole of the Celltrion Queens Masters final day. Photo by KLPGA

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Park Min-ji (24) has achieved back-to-back victories.

On the 12th, at the final 3rd round of the KLPGA Tour Celltrion Queens Masters (total prize money 1 billion KRW) held at Seolhaewon The Legend Course in Yangyang, Gangwon Province (par 72, 6,633 yards), she added one eagle to secure a wire-to-wire victory (14 under par, 202 strokes). Following last month's NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, she successfully defended her title for the second time this season. This marks her second win of the season and 12th career victory, with a winner's prize of 180 million KRW.

Park Min-ji became the fourth player in KLPGA Tour history to defend titles more than once in a single season. The late Ku Ok-hee was the first, achieving back-to-back wins in the 1982 Suwon Open, Donghae Open, and KLPGA Championship. Afterwards, Kang Soo-yeon (46) defended titles twice in 2001 at the Korea Women's Open and Hite Cup, and Kim Hae-rim (33) won consecutive titles in 2017 at the Kyochon Honey Ladies Open and KB Financial Star Championship.

Park Min-ji is smiling while holding the trophy immediately after winning the Celltrion Queens Masters. Photo by KLPGA

Park Min-ji started with a one-stroke lead and secured one eagle. She demonstrated the essence of 'defensive golf.' She recorded pars from the 1st hole through the 17th hole. On the final 18th hole (par 5), she succeeded in reaching the green in two shots and made a 5.3-meter eagle putt. By reaching her second victory summit, she rose to first place in the prize money rankings (419.03 million KRW). In the points race for the Player of the Year, she is second with 242 points, following Yoo Hae-ran (21, 258 points), and ranks third in average score (70.36 strokes), chasing Yoo Hae-ran (70.12 strokes) and Lee Da-yeon (25, 70.29 strokes).

"Before the game started, I saw the pin positions and they were so difficult that I was nervous and worried," Park said. "There were many holes where it was hard to get close with shots," she explained, "so I had to rely on putting to play well." She added, "I don't think I've ever smiled so brightly after finishing the last hole in any of my previous wins. I'm really happy." She continued, "I will also aim to win the Korea Women's Open next week," and added, "I definitely want to achieve back-to-back wins."

Kim Minju is putting on the 2nd hole of the final day at the Celltrion Queens Masters. Photo by KLPGA

Rookie Kim Min-joo (20) recorded four birdies and three bogeys. She lowered her score by one stroke to finish as runner-up (11 under par, 205 strokes). In her previous eight tournaments, she missed the cut four times, with her best finish being tied for 23rd at the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship. Hyun Se-rin (21) shot 3 under par to jump to third place (9 under par, 207 strokes). On the other hand, Song Ga-eun (22) lost three strokes and dropped to fourth place (8 under par, 208 strokes). Kwon Seo-yeon (21) and Go Ji-woo (20) performed well, tying for fifth place (7 under par, 209 strokes).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.